Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Seremetando....An Italian Tango Experience.....

I came to Turkey two weeks ago and wasn't able to dance for a week because of many reasons....Since I didn't see my family for so long, I didn't go out dancing...and my non tango friends wanted to see me all the time... They don't really get tango and some make fun of my passion...do i really care?...no...so I decided to go to milongas secretly and not answered my phone...

Since I knew that Choco Tango Festival in Perugia was happening, I decided to join my friends Antonella and Giuseppe... Instead of having an affair with tango in Istanbul, I wanted to have an Italian Tango Experience...(Seremetando)

I have to first mention that my friend Giuseppe and Tiziana are great hosts....pleasure to know them...very grateful to each of them...
I met Giuseppe in San Francisco. He visited Los Angeles with Antonella and spent a weekend at my place. We had amazing time... and I met Tiziana in Perugia...she is a friend of Antonella, who has a great spirit..I stayed with Giuseppe in Rome and Tiziana in Bologna...I am grateful to them for sharing their home with me, but more importantly their friendship...

Antonella, Giuseppe, Tiziana...you are wonderful people....

I don't believe in comparison and want to experience different things in life....
I believe in experiences....
that is why, I will not compare dancing in Italy to other places..

My first milonga was "Milonga Dei Serpenti" (an art gallery..) since I didn't dance for two weeks, I was rusty..Being rusty makes you to not have your confidence... You feel an unnecessary lack of confidence... That is what happened to me...the first hour was slow, and i started to feel the eyes on me saying that (who the hell are you..weirdo...)
Giuseppe started introducing me to people and that helped me loose my unnecessary nervous...
Rome is beautiful, full of history and friendly people...that also reflected in tango...

After Rome, we went to Perugia where the Choco tango festival was happening... It is a small city and famous with it's chocolate...yum yum yum...I met many people at the festival...first, it is cool that you are from somewhere else but later, it is painful to not know their language since some don't know any other language than Italian....
They made me feel special, important and full of life...great energy...
Especially when my name became basham thassam, shazam..ahahaha
But I kept it simple...you...tango...bellisimo...and i got lots of smiles...that was enough...more than enough...

Italian women are beautiful and very good dancers...they are humble and their embrace is full of passion....unbelievable.....
Their positive attitudine made me to be brave and stranger enough to dance with everybody that I wanted...some were teachers... some were beginners...but all of them were passionate dancers...
I also decided to dance in Firenze and Bologna....met wonderful people....
In every train, I wrote, thought, listened to my favorite orchestras and made many decisions regarding my life...

Italy was a tango trip for me but I made me think a lot about my life...It is not just tango, it is a lifestyle..(thinking of Vladi's beautiful passage on tangoinla.com) makes you think, realize and apply to your life...Now I know why people loves to dance in Italy..But also why people are traveling by themselves...that was first but not the last..

I lived in the United states, Turkey, visited Europe many times and I met many people who always compare things. How one is better than others or such an such...(excluding lovely people that I know...yes you are one of people that I like....a lot) One would agree or not but I strongly believe that a person who compare things is an unhappy person...that person is somebody who lost it's passion to life and to people in his or her life...do yourself a favor and stop doing it....

One thing didn't get change after this trip....how I don't care about people's religion and genders...how I believe in beautiful people inside and out:)...how the level of dancing is a plus and pleasant factor but not the foundation of a friendship...how tango is passion that I want to keep it to my self but will share the beauty of it with people....

And will always

Appreciate every level of dancing and believe in pure friendship...

Seremetando....

Monday, September 20, 2010

p.s: I love Tango

What would you do if Tango wouldn't existed tomorrow?

Would you go for salsa? rumba? zumba? or you would be in mourning forever?

I don't really know what I would do...and plus, I am the easiest case since I am dancing for a year an a half...How about maestros? how about performers and teachers...?

Lately I didn't really dance but I always had Tango in my mind...The idea of "I can always dance tomorrow" makes me to focus on other things that I have to take care of in my life....

What would I do if I wouldn't have Tango tomorrow...Still thinking....

One of the reasons why I love tango is that It makes me think...or I want to believe that Tango makes me think...I think Tango is more then steps, a life style...

I love Tango, I am moving out of my apartment at this moment, carrying stuff hating my life at this moment, but when I think of Tango, I start smiling and forget about the negative things in my life...It is that simple as that for me...

but What would I do if there is no OXYGEN or DIVO

if your LAST TANDA was really your Last Tanda.............................

LAST TANDA

I started writing a movie called Last Tanda... It is about Tango but from psychological perspective...Hopefully I will finish it...

A middle aged gentleman who lost everything in his life and how he found himself in Tango and how LAST TANDAS are taking everything from him...A deep analysis...How many women he loved, how many women ditched him... and how he can't live without Tango...A true love drama...

A movie that people start changing their ideas of Tango in their head... A movie that will make Tango dancers happy to be understood by other people...

Have a wonderful week....

p.s: I love Tango

but again...what would you do if there would be no Biagi, Di Sarli or D'Agustino's Tres Esquinas....

think

Friday, September 10, 2010

eat...pray...tango

Another night that I didn't dance and watched a movie (it is not more than 10 in the last year)...

Eat Pray Love...

The movie was absolutely bad and I didn't like the way it was directed and written..Most people told me that the book was really good and the movie was average anyway...

I didn't like how she decided to divorce in 10 minutes at the beginning of the movie or how she met another guy right away...

However, I think the movie had great moments and that was a result of the book...

The movie made me realize that I have absolutely no idea what to do with my life...I seriously don't want to think because it causes me to have headaches....

I decided to have TANGO as my guru (KETUT in the movie, so funny without teeth) and ARGENTINA (Buenos Aires) my India...

I think if people think what is good for them rather than believing something because everybody believes in it, it is better...

Everybody is different and people have other ways to focus on things...

I never wrote anything in my life, but tango makes me

I was never patient with my self, but tango makes me

I was never social, but tango makes me social

I was never open -minded, but tango makes m
e

I can go on...

It is obvious that Tango makes me to be more productive... So if I go to India, probably it won't help me...

Tango is good, however, it is not perfect...

There are also things that are not matching with Tango

Balance is not matching with Tango...

But now I am trying to have a balance with my life and tango.. so I can enjoy more dancing Tango...

I start realizing that I don't have to dance Tango every night, but if I think of Tango every day, I feel better than dancing every night....

As a result, Tango -which is totally unbalanced activity (you start changing your life style)- is teaching me how to be balanced with my life...

I am kind of lost with my life right now, and hopefully, Tango will teach me how to live my life...Again, I don't have to dance Tango but I think Tango...

I will EAT PRAY AND TANGO

Sunday, September 5, 2010

TANGO & NON-TANGO...

I went to Santa Barbara this weekend with my non-tango friends... to get some fresh air and change my depressive mood...

There was even a milonga on saturday, but I didn't go in order to experience a night out with friends and to see If I missed the night life scene (since I feel that I lost my dedication to tango...again)

My night started with the whole explanation of how we dance tango to my friends.....

My friends are little bit frustrated because they don't see me often, and they hate tango because of that and make fun of it....

Then, they want to learn what social dancing is but unfortunately they have no idea and they are clearly underestimating the power of Tango....

and the catch up night started with their dozen questions...

I couldn't even explained my friends the difference between milonga(the song one) and the event one...I gave up to explain after 15 minutes...They don't get it...

and then they jumped to "dancing with the stars" which I have clearly no idea what it is...( a little)

and then, we got couple shots and my favorite question came up...

SHOW US SOME MOVES......TEACH ME...

THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON...

We went to two different bars and drank etc...

I enjoyed it however...

I kinda realized that I should keep tango to myself and try to balance things out...Because this way, I don't want to hang out my friends... and the distance keeps growing

the worst part was that,

all women seemed not attractive because most of them were waisted...I think Tango makes women powerful and I like that a lot...

rather than

can I get your number?

where do you live?

which car do you have?...

at some point, I was thinking about the creepiest guy or woman in tango, and they even seemed to be pleasant...ahahahahaha....

Not Really...

At the end of the night, I was really happy that

I have Tango in my life

But I think that Tango should be remarked...Most of the people have no idea what is going on and many people are missing this incredible way of living...Most importantly, they have the wrong picture of Tango...

I don't like that...

Getting Excited for BsAs


I am getting excited for Buenos Aires...

Unfortunately, I can't have a hobby. I have to be good whatever I do, and that makes me to suffer rather than enjoying myself...
I have been suffering for awhile...

Last month, I decided to live in Buenos Aires for a year, and then I reduced it to 6 months and now, I am down to 2 months...I think I will really decide over there how long I will stay...
But I am going for sure...My feelings are changing hourly like a woman would change her decisions...

My plan is to leave LA at the end of September when I get my green card and visit my family in Istanbul for a month...I missed my family so much and I am constantly missing my grandma...




and I will hopefully arrive to Buenos Aires in November 15 ish...

I don't think I will fall in love with Buenos Aires because many people told me it is like Istanbul...SO I think I know what I am getting into...So I am pretty sure I will be comfortable over there...

I am also excited that many friends will be there and we will have an amazing time and unforgettable experience...

I will be back in LA in 2011...

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

What is this?

Are we mentally ill?

Why we are doing this to us? Instead of staying home, relax after a long work day, why we end up going to milongas or practicas and sacrifice our sleep and energy....

Do we enjoy? Maybe?... most of the time....
Do we suffer even more because we want to get better everyday? For sure....
Are we even patient? NO

I don't believe you have to be a really good dancer in order to talk about tango...Everybody's experience and point of view is different.....Everybody has a different value

Some people want to teach,some would like to perform, some want to dj, some want to touch another gender (or the same) because they have no one to touch, some people want to make money, some people find the happiness that they are missing in their lives (or they never had...)

Interestingly enough, the way you get into it, the more it gets harder...when you dance for couple months, you think that you are doing everything right, and then you realize later that you were doing everything wrong couple months ago...

you realize that she or he is not the best dancer for you anymore

Couple months ago, you enjoyed dancing with her/him, but now you don't even make an eye contact....

Some people are loosing the glamour of it, and they dance because they are addicted...it is like smoking because you have to rather than you want to...

Have you ever said that "I wouldn't even talk or even be in the same room with that guy/girl if he or she wasn't a great dancer? Be honest... It is the power of Tango, it is the love of Tango

It is all over the place....

It is overwhelming....

What is this....?

It is a complicated life style like Vladi says.....It is Tango...Argentine One...

VLADIMIR ESTRIN....

TANGO IS MORE THAN JUST A DANCE

It comes into your life as a simple interest, develops into a nice hobby, slowly grows into an obsession… and gradually becomes your lifestyle…

Tango is not just a combination of pretty steps… it is a bouquet of human emotions - passion, anger, happiness, desire, lust, jealousy, love… interpreted uniquely by each individual person… and expressed on the dance floor…

Our vocabulary is rather limited… there is only so much that you can say in words… You can write pages and pages of romantic letters to the woman that you love, and still have a hard time expressing your true feelings… but a single touch, a sole motion on the dance floor can let her know so much in a single moment! Tango allows you to communicate your feelings and emotions much stronger… you are happy - you dance one way… you are sad or angry - you dance another way! The steps and moves that seem to be the same will come out differently depending on how you feel at that particular moment, what music you are dancing to, and who you are dancing with… Precisely because of that no Tango is ever the same! Every dance is always unique… it is pure improvisation! You may know the steps in your head… but your heart tells you where to move.

Tango brings together people from all walks of life… and erases their differences! It does not matter how old you are… it does not matter who you are or what you do for a living… all that matters is that you want to dance… When You are on the dance floor… nothing else exists around you… You surrender to the music and let it move you… it gets deep inside your heart and your soul, engulfs you completely… captivates you…

Tango is not just a dance… it is a lifestyle… it is distinctive, timeless and everlasting… It spans through decades, continents, nations and people! Tango is a unique culture, rich with history, thrilling and controversial, passionate and mysterious… And with every single song, with every single dance it draws you to it stronger and stronger and makes you want to be part of it more and more…

Vladimir Estrin